9/7. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave a speech in New York, New York, in which he again focused on how new information and communications technologies (ICTs) are being used by terrorists. However, in this speech he stopped short of suggesting any government response to, or regulation of, new ICTs.

He said that "Today, al Qaeda stays organized and active in cyberspace, where their ideology recruits, inspires and radicalizes others."

Gonzales (at right) said that "the Internet has enabled our enemy to reach out to a global audience of potential terrorists. With a reduced ability to recruit and train on a home base, radical websites and the periodic release of key messages from al Qaeda leadership seek to find and encourage network membership all over the world."

This September 7 speech is one in a series in which the Attorney General has warned that new information and communications technologies are being used by terrorists and criminals. Gonzales has used these speeches to either state, imply, or lay a groundwork for the argument, that government actions are necessary.

For example, Gonzales gave a speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 16, titled "Stopping Terrorists Before They Strike: The Justice Department’s Power of Prevention". He argued that online radicalization must be contained. See also, story titled Gonzales Says Online Radicalization Must Be Contained" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,432, August 16, 2006, and story titled "Majoras and Gonzales Offer Contrasting Views of the Internet" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,436, August 22, 2006.

He also gave a speech in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 20 in which he proposed that internet service providers (ISPs) be required to retain data on their customers for later use by the government. See also, story titled "Gonzales Proposes Data Retention Mandate, Web Site Labeling, and Ban on Deceptive Source Code" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,357, April 25, 2006.

Moreover, he gave a speech in Vienna, Austria, on May 5, at an European Union interior ministers conference, in which he again advocated requiring service providers to electronically surveil their customers. He continued that "we must preserve data and have it available to be shared with another country". See also, story titled "Gonzales Says Foreign Governments Should Have Access to Information Collected under Data Retention Mandate" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,365, May 8, 2006.

Gonzales stated in his September 7 speech that terrorists have "put other modern technologies to use as well: Cell phones keep the terrorist network in touch, an inexpensive and universally available form of information-sharing and collaboration that knows no borders."

He added that "They use digital cameras to document potential targets -- creating surveillance files that can be easily and widely shared. Their research, contained on something as small as a thumb-drive or CD, is easily slipped in a pocket or an envelope -- for travel or shipping and eventual sharing with partners all over the globe."

He concluded that "technology has been integral to terrorist communications. Information shared about target locations, such as New York or Washington, can be sent over the internet in a matter of moments to cities in the United States, the United Kingdom or around the globe. In a recent case, our network disrupted theirs. We must imagine, however, that digital research is traveling from city to city every single day as terrorist partners help one another pursue their horrific goals."

9/7. President Bush gave a long speech in Georgia in which he gave a review of the war on terrorism. He discussed terrorist organizations and operations. He discussed the state of U.S. security prior to September 11, 2001. He discussed the overthrow of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the restructuring of the intelligence agencies. He also discussed surveillance of voice communications and e-mail.

During his discussion of the terrorist attacks of September 11, he noted that "two of the first suicide hijackers to join the plot were men named Hazmi and Mihdhar." He continued that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's "plan was to send these two men to infiltrate the United States and train as pilots, so they could fly the hijacked planes into buildings." Bush said that "the two men flew to Los Angeles in January 2000. There they began carrying out the plot from inside our nation. They made phone calls to planners of the attack overseas ..."

He cited these phone calls as a reason for instituting the National Security Agency's (NSA) extrajudicial surveillance electronic intercepts where one party is within the U.S. and the other is outside.

Bush said that "Another top priority after 9/11 was improving our ability to monitor terrorist communications. Remember I told you the two had made phone calls outside the country. At my direction, the National Security Agency created the Terrorist Surveillance Program. Before 9/11, our intelligence professionals found it difficult to monitor international communications such as those between the al Qaeda operatives secretly in the United States and planners of the 9/11 attacks. The Terrorist Surveillance Program helps protect Americans by allowing us to track terrorist communications, so we can learn about threats like the 9/11 plot before it is too late."

He continued that "Last year, details of the Terrorist Surveillance Program were leaked to the news media, and the program was then challenged in court. That challenge was recently upheld by a federal district judge in Michigan. My administration strongly disagrees with the ruling."

On August 17, 2006, the U.S. District Court (EDMich) issued its opinion [44 pages in PDF] in ACLU v. NSA, enjoining the NSA's extrajudicial electronic intercepts program. See also, story titled "District Court Holds NSA Surveillance Program Violates Constitution" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,433, August 17, 2006.

Bush said that "We are appealing it, and we believe our appeal will be successful. Yet a series of protracted legal challenges would put a heavy burden on this critical and vital program. The surest way to keep the program is to get explicit approval from the United States Congress. So today I'm calling on the Congress to promptly pass legislation providing additional authority for the Terrorist Surveillance Program, along with broader reforms in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

"When FISA was passed in 1978, there was no widely accessible Internet, and almost all calls were made on fixed landlines. Since then, the nature of communications has changed, quite dramatically", said Bush.

"The terrorists who want to harm America can now buy disposable cell phones, and open anonymous e-mail addresses. Our laws need to change to take these changes into account. If an al Qaeda commander or associate is calling into the United States, we need to know why they're calling. And Congress needs to pass legislation supporting this program."

9/7. Representatives of several technology and communications companies and groups held a news conference by teleconference on September 7 to discuss their opposition to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) draft broadcast treaty. They also released a statement on September 5. Broadcasters released a statement and letter in rebuttal.

The WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights will meet on September 11-13, 2006, in Geneva, Switzerland, to consider, among other things, a document [108 pages in PDF] titled "Revised Draft Basic Proposal for the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations". The WIPO General Assembly may take up the treaty later in the month.

Opposition to the Broadcast Treaty. Representatives of Public Knowledge, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Internet Society, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Consumer Project on Technology (CPT), Dell, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Tivo, and Verizon participated in the news conference.

These opponents argued first that there is no need for the treaty. They stated that there has been only one significant case, which involved iCraveTV, and that in that case the broadcasters were able to shut down the offending operation. The CEA's Michael Petricone said that "iCrave was sued into oblivion".

(Back in January of 2000 broadcasters, movie studios, television networks, the NFL and the NBA filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court (WDPenn) to enjoin the unauthorized use of copyrighted material by iCraveTV.com. Also, on June 15, 2000, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property held an oversight hearing titled "Copyrighted Webcast Programming on the Internet." See, prepared testimony of Marybeth Peters, the Registrar of Copyrights.)

The opponents also argued that the draft treaty would create new intellectual property rights. Matthew Schruers of the CCIA argued that a signal theft approach is appropriate, but that new IP rights, such as protection of digital rights management (DRM) technologies, is not.

Schruers also argued that while the U.S. Supreme Court opinion in the Feist case does not accord copyright protection to collections of data, the sweat of the brow doctrine is recognized in Europe. He argued that the draft treaty is a bad idea because it could result in extending protection to databases.

This argument rests on the debatable assumption that the Feist opinion is wise from a policy perspective.

The opponents also took issue with the procedural approach of broadcasters. There is already the 1961 treaty titled "International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations". It is also known as the Rome Convention.

The U.S. is not a party. Opponents of the draft treaty argue that U.S. broadcasting is different from European broadcasting. The former is commercial, while the latter includes many government funded operations. Petricone argued that the U.S. broadcasters are now trying to "import large chunks of European law". He argued that the appropriate procedure would be to seek legislation from the U.S. Congress.

(The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other European nations are contracting parties to the Rome Convention. So is Japan and many other nations. However, the U.S., the People's Republic of China, and many other nations have not joined.)

The opponents also argued that the technology protection measures would result in the necessity of obtaining more permissions, and payment of more fees. They argue that this would increase prices for consumers, and inhibit new and innovative technologies.

Verizon's Sarah Deutsch also argued that the draft treaty would create liability problems for internet service providers in every country. She said that broadcasters want to "extract payments" from new businesses.

In addition, on September 5, an expanded collection of opponents of the draft treaty released a statement [2 pages in PDF] in opposition.

This statement adds that "The current treaty draft includes protection for Internet simulcasts made by traditional broadcasters and cablecasters, but otherwise excludes computer networks from its scope."

Support for the Broadcast Treaty. In response, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) issued a release in which it stated that "representatives of a number of organizations have issued highly inaccurate statements in opposition to a proposed" WIPO treaty.

The NAB wrote that "The reality is that broadcaster rights at the international level have not been updated for over 45 years, and this treaty is of critical importance to the preservation of free, over-the-air broadcasting both in the U.S. and abroad."

The NAB also wrote a letter [3 pages in PDF] on September 7 to Jon Dudas, head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and a substantially identical letter [PDF] to Marybeth Peters, head of the Copyright Office (CO), which respond to the criticisms of the proposed treaty by the opposition groups and companies.

The NAB wrote that the opposition groups and companies are "wrong to suggest that there is no justification for the treaty. The need to modernize the rights of broadcasters in their signal is clear and pressing. Broadcasters' rights at the international level have not been updated for over 45 years and broadcasters are being harmed. For example, several years ago, a Canadian internet service provider began retransmitting U.S. broadcast signals over the internet. While various program providers brought a copyright infringement suit, no remedy was available for U.S. stations based upon the retransmission of their signals. Copyright holders have also sued Caribbean cable systems for the retransmission of Florida stations carrying their programming. Again, the Florida stations are being harmed, but they have no remedy under international law to require foreign cable systems to obtain authorization to retransmit their signals."

The NAB letters also state that the opposition groups are "wrong to suggest that these problems can be addressed by an approach focused only on signal theft. That focus misses the mark because without an international recognition of substantive rights in broadcast signals, foreign satellite cable and internet providers can expropriate U.S. broadcast signals. Broadcasters need to have the right to prohibit and to authorize use of their signals. U.S. broadcasters have had such protection in the form of retransmission consent rights with respect to carriage of their signals by U.S. cable systems and satellite carriers since 1992, but no such right currently exists with respect to carriage of their signals to non-U.S. cable and satellite providers."

The NAB letters also state that the "alleged threats to software developers, device and equipment manufacturers, and the public are similarly unfounded. Any final version of this treaty will include a section on the limitations and exceptions that permits countries to adopt limits and exceptions to rights created under the treaty. The same language is included in almost every other international intellectual property treaty. The limitations and exceptions provision would allow the U.S. to adopt fair use, private home copying, use by libraries and schools, safe harbor provisions, home and personal networking provisions and all other limitations on and exceptions to the rights of copyright and related rights holders."

Draft Treaty's Provision on Technology Protection Measures. Article 19 of the draft treaty includes the following language regarding "Technological Measures": "Contracting Parties shall provide adequate legal protection and effective legal remedies against the circumvention of effective technological measures that are used by broadcasting organizations in connection with the exercise of their rights under this Treaty and that restrict acts, in respect of their broadcasts, that are not authorized by the broadcasting organizations concerned or are not permitted by law."

Article 19 also provides that "Contracting Parties may provide that the circumvention of an imposed effective technological measure, used by a broadcasting organization, to obtain access to a broadcast for the purpose of non-infringing use of that broadcast shall not constitute an infringement of the measures implemented by virtue of this article."

It also provides that "In particular, effective legal remedies shall be provided against those who: (i) decrypt an encrypted program-carrying signal; (ii) receive and distribute or communicate to the public an encrypted program-carrying signal that has been decrypted without the express authorization of the broadcasting organization that emitted it; (iii) participate in the manufacture, importation, sale or any other act that makes available a device or system capable of decrypting or helping to decrypt an encrypted program-carrying signal."

9/11. Hewlett Packard issued short release on Monday, September 11. It states that "The HP board of directors met for several hours Sunday morning. It has agreed to reconvene late Monday afternoon. No further statement will be forthcoming from the company before that time."

Last week HP filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that disclosed that HP had spied on its directors, and journalists. It employed investigators who engaged in pretexting to fraudulently obtain the phone call records of directors.

See also, story titled "HP Admits Spying on its Directors via Pretexting to Obtain Confidential Home Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,443, September 6, 2006, and story titled "Thomas Perkins' States That HP's Pretexting Practices Were Probable Unlawful Conduct" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,444, September 7, 2006.

No law enforcement agency has yet announced any criminal charges. HP has not yet announced the departure of its current Chairman, Patricia Dunn.

8/31. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division released Draft Special Publication 800-95 [140 pages in PDF], titled "Guide to Secure Web Services". The NIST has responsibility for providing standards and guidelines for the computer systems of the federal government. Private sector entities may choose to follow recommendations in these publications as guidelines. One thing that is notable about this publication is that it addresses security for a category of activity that is primarily private sector. Indeed, an example application of web services that is discussed in this publication is lending. The NIST was assisted by Booz Allen Hamilton in preparing this draft publication. The deadline to submit comments to the NIST is October 30, 2006.

8/31. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division released Draft Special Publication 800-45A [143 PDF], titled "Guidelines on Electronic Mail Security". The deadline to submit comments to the NIST is October 6, 2006.

8/31. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division released Draft Special Publication 800-94 [123 pages in PDF], titled "Guide to Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDP) Systems". The deadline to submit comments to the NIST is October 20, 2006.

8/31. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division released Draft Special Publication 800-101 [98 pages in PDF], titled "Guidelines on Cell Phone Forensics". The deadline to submit comments to the NIST is September 29, 2006.

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The House will not meet. See, Republican Whip Notice.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM for morning business. At 4:00 PM it will resume consideration of HR 4954, the port security bill.

2:00 PM. The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing titled "NAFTA at Year Twelve". The witnesses will be John Melle (Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for North America), Cathy Sauceda (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), Jim Magagna (Wyoming Stock Growers Association), Craig Lang (Iowa Farm Bureau Federation), Jerry Pacheco (International Business Accelerator), Sandra Polaski (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), and Sidney Weintraub (Center for Strategic & International Studies). See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the competitive bidding procedures for Auction No. 69, which is scheduled to begin on February 7, 2007. In this auction, the FCC will offer two 3-megahertz blocks, each consisting of a pair of 1.5 megahertz segments in the 1392-1395 MHz and 1432-1435 MHz bands, in each of six Economic Area Groupings (EAGs). The FCC will also offer one 2-megahertz block of unpaired spectrum in the 1390-1392 MHz band in each of 52 Major Economic Areas (MEAs). See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Pages 51817-51822.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. The House will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:00 AM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a rare public meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of "the PCAST review of the Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program" and a "presentation on ethical and societal issues related to emerging technology capabilities". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 29, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 167, at Pages 51193-51194. Location: George Washington University, Continental Ballroom, Marvin Center Building, 800 21st St., NW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting. The agenda includes discussion of encryption, the Wassenaar Statement of Understanding on Military End-uses, and other topics. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 30, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 168, at Page 51573. Location: Room 4830, Herbert Hoover Building, 14th Street between Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "The Thompson Memorandum’s Effect on the Right to Counsel in Corporate Investigations". See, notice. The scheduled witnesses are Paul McNulty (Deputy Attorney General), Edwin Meese (Heritage Foundation), Thomas Donohue (P/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Karen Mathis (President of the American Bar Association), Andrew Weissmann (Jenner & Block), Mark Sheppard (Sprague & Sprague). The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will hold another in their ongoing series of joint hearings on single firm conduct. This hearing will address "International Enforcement Perspectives". The speakers will be Philip Lowe (European Commission), Hideo Nakajima (Japan Fair Trade Commission), Eduardo Pérez Motta (Mexican Federal Competition Commission), and Sheridan Scott (Canadian Competition Bureau). See, FTC release. Location: FTC, Satellite Building, Conference Room C, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Nuvio Corp v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 05-1248. Judges Ginsburg, Griffith and Kavanaugh will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing on the re-nomination of Kevin Martin to be a Commission of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and John Kneuer to be Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). See, notice. Press contact: Press contact: Joe Brenckle (Stevens) at 202-224-3991, Brian Eaton (Stevens) 202-224-0445, or Terri Rucker (Inouye) at 202-224-4546 or Terri_Rucker at commerce dot senate dot gov. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The AEI Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies will host a discussion of the book titled "Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge" [Amazon], by Cass Sunstein (University of Chicago). The speakers will be Sunstein, Robert Hahn ( AEI Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies), Tyler Cowen (George Mason University), and Robert Hanson (GMU). See, notice. Location: American Enterprise Institute, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

1:30 PM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will hold another in their ongoing series of joint hearings on single firm conduct. This hearing will address "Practitioner and Academic Perspectives". The speakers will be George Addy (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg), Margaret Bloom (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer), Paul Lugard (Royal Philips Electronics), and James Rill (Howrey). See, FTC release. Location: FTC, Satellite Building, Conference Room C, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

2:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on judicial nominees. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones hearings without notice. Press contact: Courtney Boone at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

4:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold a hearing on HR 5825, the "Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act". See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "How to Litigate Patent Infringement Case". The speakers will include Patrick Coyne and Jerry Ivey (both of Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $80-$135. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: D.C. Bar Conference Center, 1250 H Street NW, B-1 Level.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It is scheduled to consider several non-technology related items. See, Republican Whip Notice.

9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold an executive business meeting. See, notice. The SJC frequently cancels or postpones meetings without notice. The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. Press contact: Courtney Boone at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-5225. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "CyberSecurity: Protecting America's Critical Infrastructure, Economy, and Consumers". See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735, Terry Lane (Barton) at 202-225-5735, or Sean Bonyun (Upton) at 202-225-3761. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee will hold a hearing titled "How Can Technologies Help Secure Our Borders?" Location: Room 2318 Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM. Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson will give a speech titled "Remarks on the International Economy". The Department the Treasury's notice states that "Media without Treasury press credentials should contact Frances Anderson at (202) 622-2960 or" Frances dot Anderson at do dot treas dot gov "with the following information: full name, Social Security number, and date of birth. Please submit this information by Tuesday, September 12". Location: Treasury Department, Cash Room, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Diversity Committee will host a brown bag lunch. This will serve as the Committee organizational meeting. For more information, contact Russell Frisby at rfrisby at fw-law dot com or 202-939-7900. Location: Fleischman & Walsh, 6th Floor, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch to discuss upcoming activities. For more information contact Deborah Wiggins at dwiggins at g2w2 dot com. Location: Goldberg Godles Wiener & Wright, 1229 19th St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Political Broadcasting 202". The speakers will include Hans von Spakovsky (Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission), Robert Baker (FCC's Media Bureau), Hope Cooper (FCC's Media Bureau), Ann Bobeck (National Association of Broadcasters, invited), and David O'Connor (Holland & Knight). The price to attend ranges from $50-$125. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Lower Level Conference Room, Holland & Knight, 2099 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the competitive bidding procedures for Auction No. 68, which is scheduled to begin on January 10, 2007. The FCC will auction nine construction permits in the FM broadcast service. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Pages 51822-51827.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. It is scheduled to consider several non-technology related items. See, Republican Whip Notice.

8:15 AM - 3:00 PM. National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award will hold a closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Page 51803. Location: Administration Building, Lecture Room D, Gaithersburg, MD.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes "Computer Security Division Update", "Overview of the Privacy & Civil Liberties Oversight Board Activities", "Data Security Breaches", "Privacy Technology Project Discussion", "Safeguarding Personal Information", "Update Status of Security and Privacy Legislation", and "HSPD-12 Status Briefing". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Pages 51802-51803. Location: George Washington University, Cafritz Conference Center, Room 101, 800 21st St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 26. 9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a meeting. The event will be webcast by the FCC. Location: FCC, 445 12th Street, SW, Room TW-C05 (Commission Meeting Room).

11:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing HR 5120, a bill to amend 35 U.S.C. § 156 regarding the filing of applications for extensions of patent terms with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). See, notice. Press contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn at 202-225-2492. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

12:30 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Transactional Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch to discuss the committee's program for the upcoming year. RSVP to Neil Dellar at neil dot dellar at fcc dot gov or 202-418-8214. Location: FCC, 8th Floor, South Conference Room.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet by conference call "to prepare advice on proposed U.S. contributions to Study Group 9 (Integrated broadband cable networks and television and sound transmission) of the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardization Sector". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 166, at Page 50965. For more information, contact minardje at state dot gov or 202-647-3234.

Deadline to submit comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its proposal to further extend for smaller public companies the dates for compliance with the internal control requirements mandated by Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 15, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 157, at Pages 47060-47071.

Deadline to written requests to testify at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (OUSTR) hearing on its preparation of its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 145, at Pages 42886-42887. The notice states that the deadline to submit written requests to testify is "Wednesday, September 14". A OUSTR representative stated to TLJ that this should have stated "Thursday, September 14".

Day one of a two day closed meeting of the Library of Congress's (LOC) Section 108 Study Group. This meeting will address "Copies made at the request of patrons/interlibrary loan" and "Licenses and contracts". This meeting is closed to the public. See also, 17 U.S.C. § 108. Location: undisclosed.

The Republican Whip Notice states that the House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business.

8:30 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB). The agenda includes "Computer Security Division Update", "Overview of the Privacy & Civil Liberties Oversight Board Activities", "Data Security Breaches", "Privacy Technology Project Discussion", "Safeguarding Personal Information", "Update Status of Security and Privacy Legislation", and "HSPD-12 Status Briefing". See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Pages 51802-51803. Location: George Washington University, Cafritz Conference Center, Room 101, 800 21st St., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing titled "Contact Lens Sales: Is Market Regulation the Prescription?". See, notice. Press contact: Larry Neal (Barton) at 202-225-5735, or Paul Flusche (Stearns) at 202-225-5744. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association and The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. will host an event titled "The Copyright Office Speaks". The speaker will be Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights. The price to attend ranges from $25-$40. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: City Club of Washington (Columbia Square building concourse level), 555 13th St., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Continuing Legal Education Committee will host its organizational brown bag lunch. RSVP to Joshua Turner at jturner at wrf dot com. Location: Wiley Rein & Fielding, 1776 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its 2006 biennial review of telecommunications regulations. See, FCC notice [10 pages in PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, August 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 163, at Pages 49400-49401. This is CG Docket No. 06-152, EB Docket No. 06-153, IB Docket No. 06-154, ET Docket No. 06-155, WT Docket No. 06-156, WC Docket No. 06-157, and FCC 06-115.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) regarding its Special 301 review of the nations of Indonesia and Chile. The Trade Act of 1974 requires the USTR to identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 23, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 163, at Pages 49491-49492.

Day two of a two day closed meeting of the Library of Congress's (LOC) Section 108 Study Group. This meeting will address "Copies made at the request of patrons/interlibrary loan" and "Licenses and contracts". This meeting is closed to the public. See also, 17 U.S.C. § 108. Location: undisclosed.

TIME? The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an event titled "Content Ratings for the Web? Legislating a "Sexually Explicit" Label for Web Sites". The speakers will be Stephen Balkam (Internet Content Rating Association), Rachel Brand (Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Policy), and Leslie Harris (CDT). See, notice. Location: __.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Robert Kaplan v. T Mobile USA, App. Ct. No. 05-7165. Judges Randolph, Tatel and Williams will preside. Location: 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

Day one of a two day conference titled "National Security Automation Conference and Workshop", hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Security Agency (NSA), and Defense Information Security Agency (DISA). The subject of this conference is the measurement of the security of information technology systems. See, NIST notice and conference web site. Location: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in preparing its annual report to the Congress on China's compliance with the commitments made in connection with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 28, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 145, at Pages 42886-42887.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the competitive bidding procedures for Auction No. 69, which is scheduled to begin on February 7, 2007. In this auction, the FCC will offer two 3-megahertz blocks, each consisting of a pair of 1.5 megahertz segments in the 1392-1395 MHz and 1432-1435 MHz bands, in each of six Economic Area Groupings (EAGs). The FCC will also offer one 2-megahertz block of unpaired spectrum in the 1390-1392 MHz band in each of 52 Major Economic Areas (MEAs). See, notice in the Federal Register, August 31, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 169, at Pages 51817-51822.